Flighty affair
It was a beautiful day in Anchorage today, left for work at 0 dark 30 with a big moon setting to the NW of the city. It was about the size of a half dollar held at arms length. A moose was feeding on alders at the entrance ramp from Muldoon to the Glen Hwy. Now there is a great sunset with orange and pink Alpenglow reflecting on the mountains.
I do not have a long drive to and from work only a couple miles each way but it seems there is always something interesting to see almost everyday. I have written about the mixture of birds soaring in the heat of the electrical plant not far from my house. They circle and climb in and out of the steam plume topping out several thousand feet above the ground. They are smart to seek out the warmth during subzero days and share space with other species. The main flock is ravens, big fat ones and can number several hundred on any given afternoon. I have seen the ravens and bald eagles fly from several miles away toward the steam plume arriving near the treetop level and hitting the upward rush of air.
Up, up, they go as if they had been shot out and up from a cannon quickly beginning to circle to remain in the warm air. Depending on the wind conditions the steam plume may rise straight up or if a slight wind it may slowly blow the top off similar to a thunderstorm cloud. After only a minute of time they are at the top of the heat column where the birds will dive back down towards the ground only to start their accent once again.
The eagles are the fun ones to watch as they will rise up and do their mating dance talon to talon together falling down towards the ground only to split apart and immediately head back into the rising warm air. This will continue all afternoon until darkness sets in and several birds will stay well past dark soaring in the orange glow of the electric plants lights.
While the eagles and ravens are playing in the steam plume my small finches are busily working to gather as much food as possible to get them through another cold night. They must consume about 4 times their body weight everyday when it’s cold outside and more on days that it is below zero. The birds hit my feeder and take the nuts and berries to their den to eat all night long. It is fun to watch them going back and forth from the tree, the railing, and the deck up to the feeder. Some will just sit in the feeder and feast not moving as other birds come and go. They do not seem to be bothered by me refilling their feeder coming up to get more as I pour in the new food.
This started out tonight to be something else but I was brought back to the birds which intrigues me as I make my way home every afternoon. I wanted to write about a sign I saw while at a traffic light but I guess I will save that for another time.
All in all it was a good day, seeing moose the first thing in the morning seems to bring about a positive day for me and sets the mood and attitude going into the morning. I’m lucky to live in a place where each day brings about those surprises and wondrous things at every turn.
Be positive and have a great tomorrow!
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